Pat Stakelum

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Pat Stakelum
irish =
fullname = Pat Stakelum
placeofbirth = Holycross
countryofbirth = County Tipperary
dob =
dob =
height =
nickname =
county = Tipperary
province = Munster
club = Holycross-Ballycahill
clposition = Half-back
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Tipperary
icposition = Centre-back
icyears = 1947-1957
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 3
icallireland = 3
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

Pat Stakelum (1927-2008) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Holycross-Ballycahill and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the 1940s and 1950s.

Playing career

Club

Pat Stakelum played his club hurling with his local Holycross-Ballycahill club and enjoyed much success. He won three senior county titles in 1948, 1951 and 1954.

Inter-county

Stakelum first came to prominence in the mid-1940s as a member of the Tipperary minor hurling team. He won a Munster medal at this level in 1945, however, he failed to win an All-Ireland medal. Two years later Stakelum joined the Tipp senior team, however, success was slow in coming. In 1949 he was appointed captain of his native-county and collected his first National Hurling League medal in the process. Stakelum subsequently won his first senior Munster title, before captaining Tipp to an All-Ireland victory over Laois. The following year he won his second National League medal. This was quickly followed by his second set of Munster and All-Ireland medals. In 1951 Stakelum won his third consecutive provincial medal in-a-row following a defeat of Cork. Tipp subsequently defeated Wexford in a thrilling final, giving Stakelum his third consecutive All-Ireland medal. The following year Stakelum was captain of the Tipperary team once again as he captured his third National League medal. He won three further league titles in 1954, 1955 and 1957 and retired from inter-county hurling shortly afterwards.

Inter-provincial

Stakelum also won Railway Cup medals with Munster in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1957.

Post-playing career

Following Stakelum's playing career he moved into administration. He served as secretary of the Tipperary County Board in 1961 and 1962, a period which saw Tipp capture back-to-back All-Ireland titles. In the 1970s Stakelum helped set up the Dúrlas Óg Club in Thurles. It was a move which kick-started the rejuvenation of Gaelic games in the town where the GAA was founded.

Stakelum later served as a selector on a number of Tipperary senior hurling teams and saw his nephews, Richard and Conor Stakelum and Bobby and Aidan Ryan achieve championship success with Tipperary.

Pat Stakelum died on April 4 2008. [http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/mhojgbcwkfmh/ BreakingNews.ie report]

References

Teams